Sorrell: 'Instinctive dislike' of Trump travel ban

The highest-paid executive on the FTSE 100 has joined growing public opposition among global firms to President Trump's travel ban.

Sir Martin Sorrell, boss of advertising giant WPP (Frankfurt: A1J2BZ - news) , spoke out hours after Starbucks (Hanover: SRB.HA - news) chief executive Howard Schultz warned that civility and human rights were "under attack" from the new administration's policy agenda.

Both raised their concerns as the world reacted to the temporary travel ban on people entering the US from seven mainly-Muslim nations.

The Executive Order also included a halt, for 120 days, to refugee resettlement.

While firms - especially in the tech sector which rely on skilled migrant staff - said they were in the process of supporting employees affected by the measures, the vast majority did not openly criticise the policy, despite widespread protests.

However, some chose to go public with the chief executive of Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) , Tim Cook, saying the order "was not a policy we support" and added that had been communicated that to the White House.

His counterpart at Netflix (Xetra: 552484 - news) , Reed Hastings, called it "a sad week" and added: "It is time to link arms together to protect American values of freedom and opportunity."

Elon Musk, the South African-born founder of Tesla and SpaceX, said on Twitter (Frankfurt: A1W6XZ - news) : "The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the country's challenges."

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Airbnb was among firms pledging support to those affected, saying it would provide free housing to anyone not allowed into the US.

In the UK, Sir Martin said of the travel ban: "We are concerned about the impact it may have on our people and their families both inside and outside the USA and on innocent people generally.

"As the grandson of Eastern European grandparents, who were admitted to the UK in the very late 19th and early 20th centuries, I have an instinctive dislike of such measures."

UK business lobby group, the Institute of Directors, said Mr Trump's policy could "seriously undermine business and trade."

While the White House has hailed the ban as a " massive success ", Mr Schultz offered condemnation of the Trump agenda in a number of areas.

In a message to the chain's global workforce he wrote that Starbucks would look to hire 10,000 refugees over five years in the countries the company operates in.

"We will start this effort here in the US by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with US troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support", he said.

Mr Schultz also called for the US to "build bridges, not walls" with Mexico - a reference to President Trump's threat to start construction of a massive border fence within months.

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